As the BJP and Congress campaign for the 2014 elections in
India, what is clearly missing from both party’s platforms is an agenda
for the North-East.

This is evidenced by the fact that the current attention of both
political parties is heavily focused on four states heading for assembly
polls: Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. While the
results of the Delhi election will preview national sentiment, the other
three states are important from the point of view of the upcoming Lok
Sabha elections. Rajasthan is an especially important battlefield – a
victory in the assembly election there tends to translate into a
national victory. A triumph for the BJP in the state could lead to a
massive gain in the Lok Sabha elections.

Mizoram, the fifth state soon to hold elections, receives little
attention from politicians or the media.

This lack of attention given to
the politics of the North-East is nothing new or unusual. While
regional satraps elsewhere are given prominence, three-time Chief
Ministers (CM) from the North-East, such as Tarun Gogoi of Assam, or
Manik Sarkar of Tripura, do not receive similar coverage for their
successive triumphs. Even bomb blasts or terrorist attacks in the region
receive scarce coverage –– a perfect example being the recent blast in
Imphal, not far from the Manipur Chief Minister’s office.

One of the key reasons for not giving the North-East a high priority,
many argue, is the fact that it only sends 24 Members of Parlament to
the Lok Sabha, out of which Assam alone sends 14. A perfect illustration
of political numbers making the difference is the fact that Mamata
Banerjee, Chair of the Trinamool Congress and CM of West Bengal,
receives much more coverage for her strong stand on issues like the Teesta agreement and
the land agreement, while Sarkar, who has been keen to play a
constructive role in improving ties with Bangladesh, seldom gets any
focus.

In economic terms too, the North-East has not been able to perform
desirably. This is due to the security challenges plaguing the region as
well as its neglect by the national leadership.

The government of India has tried to ensure that the North-East gets
its due and for this purpose set up the Ministry for the Development of
The North-Eastern region (DONER). Despite this, precious little has been
done to actually give the region its due, in spite of its strategic location,
abundance of natural resources and great sporting potential.
Incidentally, with the region producing more and more sports
personalities, like Gold-winning Olympian Mary Kom, things are beginning
to change.

It is time, that both national parties changed this attitude. Both
Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi need to hold more campaign rallies in the
North-East and spell out their visions for the region. Modi, who is
trying to emerge as an alternative to the existing establishment, could
actually send a very positive signal by giving priority to a region
where his party is not particularly strong. While Modi and his party
often comment on security issues plaguing the North-East, and the weak approach of the central government towards Chinese incursions there,
they rarely address the development issue head-on. Addressing these
challenges in terms of India’s Look-East Policy may be beneficial as
well.
Even Rahul Gandhi, who talks about inclusive growth and uplifting
neglected sections of society, would do well to speak about the
North-East.

Apart from the BJP and Congress, it is also the duty of the CMs of
relatively powerful Eastern states like Orissa and West Bengal, who have
been speaking of forming an Eastern club, to incorporate the agendas of
North-Eastern states. The North-Eastern states in return should also
form a similar group of their own so that they can pressurize the
central government to address the region more robustly.

It is time that New Delhi stopped pointing fingers at outside forces
for the problems in the North-East. It is time to look within, and a
good start would be some serious debates between the two national
parties on their respective visions for the North-East.